


Surrounded By Two Idiots: KomaHinaNami Week 2020

by MixnSpice



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Crossover, Depending on the snippet, Dogs, Domestic Fluff, Dungeons & Dragons References, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Graduation, It's either friendship or polyamory, Komahinanami Week, Komahinanami Week 2020, Light Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, Multi, Pride, RWBY au, Sleep, Talentswap, ajin au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24680515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MixnSpice/pseuds/MixnSpice
Summary: A collection of (often non-related) snippets for KomaHinaNami Week 2020.Some are platonic, some are a happy poly, some are silly, and others not so much.Entry 9 Summary:  In the world of Remnant, there were four four important memories that Hajime will never forget during his time at Hope's Peak. RWBY AU.Day 1: CrossoverDay 2: TalentswapDay 3: Soft/DomesticDay 4: D&D or ArcadeDay 5: AnimalsDay 6: Non-DespairDay 7: SleepDay 8: PrideDay 9: Free Day
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Komaeda Nagito & Nanami Chiaki, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito/Nanami Chiaki
Comments: 28
Kudos: 72





	1. Death Is a Memory - Day 1: Crossover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito was always familiar with the concept of death. He's experienced it a few times before, after all.

Three survivors grouped themselves. Their chests grew heavy with labored breaths, each one for a different reason. Nagito turned his head around, looking back on the destruction they’ve narrowly escaped from somehow.

Everything went up in flames: the other Ultimates who weren’t able to make it out in time, the angry mobs of reserve course students and chose to fall right there, and the school they once knew.

"It's going to be okay,” Hajime knelt by their friend, hands frantically working to create a makeshift bandage out of his uniform’s blazer. “Don't worry. It's going to be okay," He repeated, to serve as a reassurance to himself as much as it’d be the same for the other two. "You're going to be okay." His words seemed less stable when his heavy, ragged breathing was mixed in with it.

Nagito turned back his two companions. A deep, sinking feeling dropped on him. It should’ve been him. Neither of them deserved this kind of suffering.

....

_The earliest time Nagito had a taste of death happened on that day._

_Just like any typical child of that age, he sat right in between his sleepy, yet loving parents. His innocent, wide eyes darted back and forth between the white surroundings. And just like any young child, he couldn't bring to himself to stay still._

_And then, it all crashed down on his world._

_His parents jolted themselves awake. Other people with him scrambled onto their feet. Their screams deafened him._

_Before he knew it, he was torn away from his parents’ protective grasp and felt a sharp ache on his neck._

_His world went dark._

_It felt like he took a nice nap. His eyes forced themselves open. It's weird; the throbbing ache from his neck was gone. What he saw back then will forever stick with him. He was unable to hold back his gasp; unfamiliar black mist surrounded his young, once innocent eyes._

_So many people thought that he had survivor's guilt; the kind of feeling wherein he shouldn't have survived. "It's a common symptom," They told him in hushed tones, "Children of your age would've experienced that if that happened to them," They added that ignorant reassurance. They couldn't have been any more wrong than that._

_The truth is, he truly didn't survive back there._

_And yet, he still lived._

....

Chiaki’s eyes fluttered between staying awake and dangerously closing them forever. She remained still on the ground; it’s not like there’s anything else she can do but that.

Despite Hajime’s best efforts, red continuously seeped through the fabric. The wound inflicted on her by one of the reserve course students had narrowly missed her heart, but it still dug in too deep. It didn’t help that the iron pole was pulled out immediately after the initial attack.

That was the first time Nagito felt so much hatred against the reserve course, and it’s for a reason that wasn’t related to their inherent inferiority.

It was a good thing that Hajime was so focused on getting Chiaki out there with them back then; he never saw the thin, long fingers sticking out of the attacker’s chest.

....

_Nagito met with Death once again. It's been a while since he last experienced such familiar darkness._

_This time, he’d been walking back after claiming his lottery prize. It’s nothing too special; he didn’t care much about money and this wasn’t the first time he won something like that._

_As expected, he was later cornered by a typical thug. He figured that the thug wanted his prize money, and so, he was rather willing to part ways with it. He didn’t expect the thug to clobber him in the head with a crowbar anyways._

_So, he was forced to spend quite some time among the garbage. He was unable to move for a while and to be fair, he couldn’t think so much either, so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been._

_When he woke up, at last, he hoisted himself out of the dumpster he was thrown into and patted down any remnants of grime left on his clothes. He’ll have to wash the dried blood on the side of his head when he gets home._

....

He heard Hajime mutter, “No, no, no, no, no,” as the bleeding got worse. “Stay with us, please.” Neither of them could take it anymore. Both boys helplessly held onto the dying girl’s hands.

"It's..." She strained to say any more words. Her chest heaved so heavily. "So cold..."

“I don’t…” Chiaki choked out, “I don’t…want to…leave…you…two…”

....

_Nagito was an ajin; a creature lesser than human. He can’t die, not by any ordinary means. No one knew about that fact, and if anyone did, he wouldn’t be living within the halls of Hope’s Peak by now._

_Ever since he discovered that fact, sometimes, he had what can only be described as the oddest of dreams. At least, they would’ve been called dreams, if they happened while he was asleep; the ones he vividly remembered happened while he was awake. Perhaps hallucinations would’ve been more accurate._

_Either way, it was all the same. Whether he was awake or not, he laid his eyes on the most horrifying abomination he’d ever seen. A monster that resembled a thin, wiry skeleton wrapped from head to toe in black cloth like a twisted mummy._

....

Both of her hands went still.

Hajime kept holding on to her hand. He lowered his head, obscuring most of his facial features. Although his expression remained unreadable to the other person, his body uncontrollably trembled. A choking noise formed from his throat. Thin lines of tears ran down his cheeks.

Nagito did the same, solemnly looking at their friend’s distressingly peaceful face. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shed tears like his remaining friend is doing right now and yet, nothing came from him. Had Death plagued his life so much, he ended up numbing to its advances?

While he lingered in his thoughts, he then felt a finger twitch in his hand.

At what happened next, he almost jumped back. His eyes went wide when he saw familiar black mist surround his fallen friend's body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope you don't mind me starting this week off with a punch to the gut (would it be more accurate if I said 'stab to the chest instead', hehe, sorry). This time, it's Nagito's turn on the whump table, because I've already done enough to Hajime and Chiaki, especially the latter. At least, for the time being.
> 
> Don't worry, the next entries will a lot kinder to him, as well as the other two by default. Maybe.


	2. Different Life - Day 2: Talentswap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nagito is the Ultimate Stunt Double, Chiaki is the Ultimate Soldier, and Hajime is the Ultimate Nurse. Of course, everyone knows that Hajime's real talent is the Ultimate Mother Hen for putting up with those two disastrous, but still lovable, morons.

Hajime sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This is the fifth time it happened this week.” The slow shaking of his head wasn’t enough to emit the sheer disappointment he had towards someone; by someone, he meant the patient who’s now within the school’s clinic. It’s a good thing they’re the only one inside right now.

That very patient he’s tending to at the moment can’t do much except for smiling sheepishly at him. “Sorry. I was holding myself back a lot.”

“That’s not the point and you know that; I understand where you’re coming from, I really do,” He snapped his eyes shut in exasperation, “But seriously, picking a fight not just with the Ultimate Yakuza, but with her bodyguard too? Sure, you went to wars with even worse kinds of people, but they’re Ultimates students too and not to mention, our classmates.”

He heard her huff. “You know that I can’t just stand by and let her pick on the reserve course.”

It's ironic that someone called _the Ultimate Soldier_ never gets hit even once in a real battle, but manages to get some injuries then and there in the school.

“On the bright side, I won that battle. No one else got hurt badly.” And she said all of that without a hint of irony. Sometimes, this girl’s going to kill him without even needing to lift a single finger.

“Yeah, yeah. I can see that.” _‘No one else did except you.’_ His hands went over to her blouse and swiftly unbuttoned them. In one quick motion, he pulled both her blazer and blouse off and put them to the side. “Now hold still, will you.”

Rather relieving for him, she did exactly that.

At least these new sets of injuries were just bruises all over her biceps and abdomen; a bit concerning, but it isn’t too serious. While he busied himself treating her, scrubbing all over those area with a moist towel, he isn’t blushing, being flustered so hard or even getting any impure thoughts whatsoever; he’s a professional and he’s going to act that part. It also helps that he’s already used to these kinds of sessions.

(That said, he can’t help but stare a bit during the first time they met, back when she got scratched all over by a skittish rabbit that got stuck in a hole. Just a little bit. Cut him some slack, Ultimate Nurse or not, he’s still a growing teenager. It made things very awkward from way back then.)

As he’s in the middle of treating her without any fussing, he heard the clinic’s door swing open. After that, both of them heard a voice they were well-acquainted with.

“Hey there, Nagito.” Chiaki politely greeted to their visitor.

“Hey there, you two.” Nagito came inside with a smile and a wave. “Sorry if I came in at a bad time-” He stopped himself almost immediately after that. His eyes squinted, as if he were carefully analyzing the scene before him. “…Oh my, I hope I’m not interrupting anything important. I guess I should get myself going then.”

“No, it’s fine. You can stay here if you want to.”

“Really? Well, since you insisted so, I guess I’ll have to stay here.”

While the two went on, Hajime subconsciously tuned them out the moment he heard Nagito’s initial comment. If he were a normal guy, he would’ve been so embarrassed and try (and obviously fail) to convince Nagito that no, this isn’t what it looks like, and all sorts of perverted clichés that only happen in the trashiest of media.

But because he got this a lot, he’s since learned to deal with it. He’s a professional; he shouldn’t let the other boy’s teasing get to him.

“What did you do this time, Nagito?” He didn’t even turn his head around to look at him. He was also still completely unaware that he just interrupted their important discussion about something he wouldn’t understand.

The mock gasp of shock was more than enough for him to visualize the following; Nagito stumbling back while clutching the side of his chest with a hand. “Ah, the way you said that hurts way more than anything I’ve ever endured in intense scenes.”

“Alright, first, mind your phrasing.”

That earned a confused “Huh?” from Chiaki.

“Second,” Hajime added as he turned himself to face him. “What have you gotten yourself into this time? I’ll take a look at it.”

Before he can stand up from his seat, both of Nagito’s hands shot up in front him. “You don’t have to, really. It’s not that big of deal.”

The nurse gave him a look that pretty much says, _‘Please stop it with your obvious bullsh-’_ He cut that thought off before it went any further. He placed a hand over his forehead; he can already feel the metaphorical headache coming out. “If it wasn’t that big of a deal, then you wouldn’t be coming here in the first place.”

“You mean I can’t come and see you here if I want to?” The ‘hurt’ tone in Nagito’s voice wasn’t very convincing; he may be good at acting as a stunt double, but by God is his acting so awful.

He nodded slowly to better emphasize his point. “Yes, exactly as you said.”

“Can he at least stay just for today?” Chiaki asked, butting into the conversation that was meant for those two boys. “He’s already inside here anyway; besides, I don’t mind having him around.”

“Chiaki, you don’t have to vouch for my case, please. I can see that Hajime’s still busy tending to you. I’ll be fine, really.”

While the other two went back and forth, Hajime tuned them out again to better focus himself on his current task. That is, to finish tending to the soldier’s bruises.

 _‘What am I going to do with you two?’_ He wanted to cover his face with both hands, but he can’t really do that right now. _‘You’re both lucky I don’t have any other pending patients today.’_

_‘I swear, it’s like you guys are doing this on purpose.’_

Then again, even if that was the case, he can’t exactly stay mad at them forever. It’s nice to feel wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As much as I like Counselor!Hajime, I think that Nurse!Hajime was a lot funnier in my head. He's a lot grumpier and sassier than his normal or counselor self, but he's willing to treat your wounds all the same. He's still the same, kind person we all know and love.
> 
> Stunt Double!Nagito doesn't have the awful cycle of good luck and bad luck his normal self has, but he still gets injuries then and there no thanks to the nature of his talent. They're pretty mild in this case.
> 
> And finally, Soldier!Chiaki is a lot more fit than her normal self due to having a different talent as well as lifestyle, and is also the kind who'd disobey morally corrupt superiors when they cross a line. Still loves to play games in her free time, though.


	3. No Such Thing as Too Blissful -  Day 3: Soft/Domestic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the end of the day, they came back to a welcoming home with warm smiles and a clichéd, overused line.

The train ride to home was hell as it always was. Hajime stood up, tightly gripping on the iron bar around him. It was rather packed in here too; even from his position, he can see other salary men who were stuck in the same position as he was in.

Did he happen to pick a train that was exclusive for salary men? Haha, he can already hear his two partners giggling about that lame excuse of a joke he thought of just now. It must be because he’s going to be a dad soon. Everyone knows that dads make the lamest jokes.

 _‘And to think that’ll happen to me too.’_ He let himself drift away, just for a little while. It’s a long, hellish ride to his comfortable home, after all.

Ever since they’ve graduated and started living together, just the three of them plus extra family members, it makes sense that he'd be the one to end up with a soul-sucking job. Oh, the things he'd do for love and financial stability.

Yeah, they’re technically loaded now with huge amounts of cash to spare, thanks to Nagito’s constant winnings, but he’d been an idiot to rely on that before. No offense to him, but his luck isn’t the most reliable, and it won’t be surprising if they lost that money as quickly as he’d won it.

Sure, it hasn’t happened yet, but just to be safe, he went and volunteered himself to do it. There’s also the additional income from Chiaki working as a freelance beta tester as well as a streamer at least once a month, which might’ve made his work a bit pointless back then, but come on, he isn’t going to sit around and let those two do all of the work. He should do his part and contribute too.

Now in present time, it’s a good thing he did just that; now that Chiaki’s expecting she isn’t able to do her work as much and had to go for checkups.

 _‘I can’t wait to see what our baby would be like.’_ Hajime thought to himself, letting the potential future distract him from the occasional bump towards him.

An hour went by, and thankfully, the hellish train ride to home was over.

Hajime yawned as he wobbled out of the train’s doors. The next thing he’s going to do now is walk to their shared residence. It wasn’t that far out; it’s at least a few miles more.

He rang on the doorbell. He opened the door and got in, calling out, "I'm home." He loosened his stiff suit, as well as taking his shoes off before stepping inside the living room.

When he got there and went over to check the kitchen, he was greeted by Nagito’s warm smile. “Oh, welcome home, Hajime,” He turned the stove off and went to face him. In the typical fashion, he asked, “Would you like dinner-“

Hajime placed a hand in front of him, not even bothering to hear the rest of that clichéd line. “I’m going to stop you right there, before you can say anything more.”

Nagito’s disappointment was so immeasurable; his face might’ve been channeling their other partner’s pouting face. “Come on; don’t be so mean, Hajime. Let me have some fun this time.”

“Yeah, no, I don’t think so,” He tried to move past him, “Excuse me, but I think I’m going to take my early dinner right now.”

The other man didn’t budge. “Huh, but Chiaki isn’t here yet. Shouldn’t we wait for her just a bit longer? I mean, it wouldn’t feel complete without her.”

He yawned once again; their other partner went away for her daily checkup. “Okay, you have a point there. I guess I’ll take a short nap on the couch, then. See you later.”

And so, Hajime let himself collapse on the couch. It’s soft enough to be comfortable, but also not comfortable enough to let himself sleep for too long. If he did the same thing on their bed, he wouldn’t have let himself be woken up and so, accidentally skip dinner again.

After what felt like small minutes passing by, the doorbell rang for the second time that evening.

As expected, Hajime got up, now recovered somewhat from his short nap; he stretched himself and got off the couch. “I’ll get it.” The fact that he’s a bit less than presentable at the moment didn’t cross his half-awake mind, but then again, he was expecting someone who didn’t really care about that.

Before he can get there, Nagito’s already got there himself; and before Nagito can answer the door, it opened and outside was Chiaki. “I’m home. Is Hajime already here?”

“Welcome home,” Nagito greeted, and then nodded, “And yeah, he came back here around thirty minutes earlier than you.”

“Huh, I didn’t notice.” Hajime commented, before turning to their partner with a small smile. “Anyways, welcome home to you, too. How are they doing now?”

“The doctor said they’re doing fine right now. They’re still pretty small at this time, though.”

“I see. Well, it’s a good thing, then.” He then awkwardly added, “The ‘doing fine’ part, I mean.”

When that topic was over, after putting his warm smile back, Nagito then proceeded to ask her, without any shame at all, if Hajime might add, “So, would you-”

Just like what happened earlier, he was cut off with, “I’ll take dinner later.” Chiaki yawned, unintentionally cutting him off as well.

“Aw,” Nagito said in a mildly disappointed tone, “Hajime did that too, you know.”

As she put her shoes away, she then remarked in reply, “Huh, he did? Well, you did pull this off a few times now, Nagito. It’s natural he’d see it coming, I think. Maybe you should spice it up a bit more. Maybe mix things up.”

“Chiaki, no,” A tiny vein popped at the side of Hajime’s neck. “Please don’t give him any more ideas.”

“Hmm,” A mischievous smile came over Nagito. “I see. I’m going to consider that.” He nodded as he laughed.

“Nagito, no; just, no. Please don’t ever think of going through with that.”

At least dinner went by without a hitch after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As for who's biological baby it is, well, I'll leave it all up to your imagination. Then again, it's not like its needed since all three of them will claim the baby as their own anyway.


	4. Roll Your D20 - Day 4: D&D or Arcade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To stave off their boredom while stuck indoors, the trio form their own party in a tabletop game. All the while, the GM fails to kill everyone off.

Demonic minions of all kinds laid scattered across the ruined floors, staining them in crimson. The Demon King’s four great generals have also fallen; their bodies have been slashed beyond recognition. The Demon King himself stood from his throne. His tall, menacing figure towered over the players who foolishly brave enough to face him head on.

As for the them, they were exhausted, low on healing. Yet, it wasn’t over for either group; the three gallant, chosen heroes were only nearing the inevitable climax of their long journey.

“How impressive,” The Demon King remarked with a low chuckle. “Very few have managed to make it this far; because of that, I’ve decided to become generous for today, and allow you a fair reward after this.” He slammed his trident on the ground, hard enough to crack it. “I SHALL DISPLAY YOUR BONES NEXT TO MY THRONE FOR ALL FUTURE HEROES TO SEE!”

* * *

“That’s the hammiest thing I’ve ever heard.” Hajime dryly noted. “So hammy in fact, I don’t know if I should be scared of the Demon King anymore.”

“I’d like to see you try better.” The pal’s GM for their current campaigned retorted. She moved the Demon King’s minifigure away from the highly-detailed, custom throne, and in front of the three player’s minifigures.

Chiaki joined and said, “He does have a point. Not to mention, I’ve seen that threat done so many times by different kinds of villains and bosses, it doesn’t have that much of an impact anymore. At least, in my opinion.” She yawned. “Also, bone decorations of all things? Talk about clichéd and overused.”

“I don’t know about you, but the way she’s portraying the Demon King right makes me think of the way Gundham usually acts, but it’s probably just me.” Nagito blurted that out with a slight shrug.

An abnormally audible gasp came out from Hajime after hearing that revelation. “Oh my god, I can’t unsee it or unhear it anymore.”

“Thanks a lot, Nagito.” That light-hearted laugh came from Chiaki.

“You’re welcome, you two. I’m glad to help out.” Nagito replied with a smile. Whether he was truly earnest about that or only played along with his friends didn’t matter; either way, it had the same effect on their GM.

“ _Anyways,_ ” The GM coughed as she sidelined a glare directed the three pals, who weren’t paying that much attention to her right now. “If you three won’t be interrupting me again…”

* * *

One of the three heroes, the paladin of their small party, charged forward with a holy battle-axe that was swinging towards the Demon King’s neck. The bard followed closely behind the paladin.

While the two were busy preoccupying the Demon King’s attention, the rogue snuck in the shadows, right behind where the Demon King stood.

The Demon King effortlessly blocked the axe with his trident, and proceeded to toss the paladin out of his way. The paladin then landed onto the bard, knocking them out of the battlefield as well as leaving the rogue open to attack.

Before the rogue can try and stab the Demon King in the back, he turned around and used a skill that left the rogue paralyzed in fear.

“Is that all you mortals can do?” The Demon King tauntingly asked.

* * *

“I call BS on that move.” Chiaki objected.

The GM shrugged, giving her a catty grin. “Hey, the D20’s don’t lie. Besides, we’re just getting started. Don't have to get your panties in a twist.”

“Crap, this is getting way more intense than I thought.” For Hajime, it felt like his heart’s jumping out faster than usual, even though the scenarios are mostly represented by minifigures and their GM’s lousy storytelling.

“If we don’t do anything soon, Hajime’s character is done for.” Chiaki muttered. “I wonder if there’s anything we can do to get him out.”

Nagito raised his hand. "I vote to sacrifice Hajime’s character to the Demon King."

Not even a second after he said just that, Chiaki raised her hand as well. "I second that too."

"Hey, I thought we were a party!" Hajime turned, shouting at both of them.

"Sorry, Hajime, but I believe in you." Nagito pointed out. “I know that you have the hope within yourself to overcome this great despair, the one that has befallen our party.”

"Don't you dare pull that excuse out!" He turned to his other friend and pretty much begged, “Come on, please tell you can see how bad that’ll turn out.”

Unfortunately for him, it didn’t get better. Chiaki had the gall to sincerely add, “Don’t worry, I believe in you too. I know you can do this.”

“Okay, now you made lose faith in you too.”

The GM clapped her hands together to stop any further banter between the trio. “Alright, because of your teammates oh-so helpful input,” She couldn’t help but add a laugh to that, “What is your character going to do now?”

He sighed, now resigning himself and his character to their fates. Might as well go out with a bang. “My character says a pick-up line that’d make even the hardest of hearts swoon.” Hajime dully said.

“Huh, I never thought you of all people would think of that. I’ve thought that ” The GM then said, “Alright, since you said that, you’ve got to roll a perfect 20, or everyone in your party gets killed off.”

“Well, that’s just great.” Hajime placed the D20 over his palm. He then placed his other hand on top of it, closed his eyes, and started shaking it in a rather less-than-confident way.

He opened his hands, and bracing himself, forced his eyes open to see the result and-

"Oh, would you look at that." Nagito commented.

Chiaki sounded just as surprised. "Woah, Hajime successfully seduced the Demon King."

The GM slammed her hands down on the table. Despite the sheer force it took, the minifigures of each character stood their guard."WHAT THE FU-…T-THAT'S NOT HOW THIS GAME IS SUPPOSED TO END, YOU LITTLE SHI-!"

And that’s how the three adventurers gained a new f(redacted) toy-er, ‘party member’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'll admit that I never played DnD before nor do I have any extensive knowledge about it, so I quickly apologize in advance. Before you torch me, let's just pretend this is not exactly DnD they're playing, but vaguely similar expy of it.


	5. Doggo - Day 5: Animals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito picks up an unexpected hitchhiker to home. His two roommates aren't sure on what to think of that.

It all started when he heard tiny barks down the street. It only spiraled further down after that.

“Oh my,” Nagito can’t help but say that out loud as the tiny tongue licked over his index finger, “You’re lost, too, aren’t you, little guy?”

He picked the tiny critter up with ease. He hadn’t realized it until now, but by holding the little fella up this close, he ended gazing so deeply into their big, sad eyes. Those eyes wound up stealing his heart right then and there.

Holding the itty-bitty stray closer to his chest in order to keep it warm, Nagito said to himself with a short laugh, “I don’t think my roommates will mind having someone like you running around. I think you’re exactly the little hope we need right now.” He began his walk back to their shared residence. “I mean, if you can take me just like that, they should be easy for you too.”

* * *

When he got home shortly after that, with the little puppy in his arms, he’d soon be proven right. After one look at them both, Nagito was then requested to sit on the couch, along with Hajime, for a short meeting.

Which of course, led them to what’s happening now.

Hajime went over the little mongrel a few more times, and then went back to focusing his intense look against him. Crossing his arms, he then said in disbelief, “Nagito, are you really serious about this?”

"Yes, I really am sure about this.” He adamantly replied. “Plus, he's so cute.” To prove his point, he lifted the puppy a bit to let it meet Hajime from eye-to-eye. “Don't tell me you’re the kind of person can say no to that little face."

The little mongrel in the other boy’s arms proceeded to perform the deadliest attack known to humanity: the puppy dog eyes. It was super effective. Hajime’s defensive walls slowly crumbled down.

In order to try and stave it off somehow, he looked away and deflected that with, “I don’t know. Aren’t dogs a big responsibility?” He internally shuddered, resisting the urge to come back and look over the irresistibly cute critter once again.

Not even a second after that, a quick reply/rebuttal came in to shatter that argument, faster than a bullet could ever dream of. “Then I’ll take care of Yomogi myself.” Nagito hugged the puppy even closer to him. “You and Chiaki don’t have to trouble yourselves for me. I’ve taken care of a pet before, so I think I have good idea on what to do.”

Hajime sighed, covering his face with both hands. He did both to show his exasperation, and to also shield himself better. “You seriously went and named him already.” Shaking his head, he then added, lightly parting two fingers away to look at Nagito in the eye, “Also, naming him after my favorite snack doesn’t mean I’m automically going to give you a pass for that.”

“But can you at least consider it?”

Just before Hajime can open his mouth to reply to that, a new voice came to join in, along with that same person joining in by leaning at the back of the couch.

“Hey,” Chiaki said with a slight raised hand, as she entered their puppy discourse. “What’s the fuss all about?”

With a sigh, he jabbed a thumb towards the subjects of their current, almost senseless debate. “Nagito brought a stray puppy home and now,” Hajime paused himself, letting himself take a deep breathe to relieve himself, “He wants to keep it here.”

At the end of that, the puppy in question let out a squeaky bark in response. That ended with Nagito going back to coo over the little thing.

It took her a while to respond to that, having admittedly been distracted by the cute display. When she did, had a small, fond smile over her face as she said, “Oh, when you put it that way, I don’t think it’s that bad of a problem.”

“Yeah,” Hajime let out a pained chuckle along with that. “I expected that kind of answer from you.”

“Does that mean I can keep Yomogi?” Nagito asked with more hope in his tone than usual.

“Of course you can. We just outvoted Hajime.”

Hajime sighed, resigning himself to his defeat. He rubbed over his forehead as he said, “Alright, but as long as you take care of its ‘business’, then I guess there’s no harm in that. Speaking of which, you got to take Yomogi out for his shots?” “He raised a finger up as he also pointed out, ”You did pick him up from the streets, remember?”

After thinking about it, Nagito nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Meanwhile, Chiaki looked over the puppy, then to Nagito who’s now being affectionately licked by the little guy, and then back to Hajime.

She can’t help but pick up on the fact that even though Hajime’s only been with the little guy for a few minutes at most, he’s already calling him by his chosen name.

She can already tell that things will only get a lot more hectic in their household, especially starting now.

* * *

As expected, the next days, and most likely the upcoming days as well, results as caused by a new puppy at home were very predictable and yet also, unavoidable.

Everyone knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

Not a single day passed when the puppy left…well, ‘marks’ and ‘spots’ all over the place, and cried every night when he had to sleep on his bed. A lot of precious sleep was lost during those many nights.

It almost feels like raising a kid, and Hajime subconsciously dreaded the day they’d inevitably end up with one.

Despite all of that trouble the cute little mongrel caused, Nagito still did all of the work with a smile and then held Yomogi so in his arms. Neither Hajime nor Chiaki saw their self-deprecating friend so happy and carefree before.

Because of that, just like their friend, the same one responsible for taking the little guy inside in the first place, they couldn’t stay mad at the puppy either. In a way, they feel more than thankful for the little guy’s presence in their life.

Then of course, things didn’t stay the same for long; it got a little troubling when after months have passed, Yomogi ended growing bigger than everyone thought he would. He still thought of himself as a little guy, and so, often ended up looking comically disproportionate whenever he climbs over his owner’s lap.

Still, everyone loved the still-cute but not-so-little-anymore mongrel all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: After seeing this prompt, I remembered Nagito's backstory, and so I thought to myself, he'd be the most likely to pick a stray up, isn't he?


	6. See You All Again - Day 6: Non-Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chiaki thinks about the future. To be more specific, the future involving her and everyone in her class, including her two closest friends.

Chiaki nervously shuffled herself in place. Every third year student had gathered around the gym. She never thought that she’d see so many of them gathered in a single place at once. It’s almost suffocating.

A hand comfortingly tapped her shoulder. “Are you alright there, class rep?” Nagito asked, concern filling up his eyes.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Her friend opened his mouth, as if to say something, only to close it back then as he relented. “Okay, if you say so.” He returned his attention to one of their upperclassmen’s speech onstage. Despite his answer, she had a feeling he wasn’t so convinced about that; that look on his face said it all.

The upperclassman was long done with their speech by the time she came back to the real world. Headmaster Kirigiri took their place onstage, and began to speak about how the graduating Ultimates made it this far.

 _‘Graduation, huh?’_ It’s a little funny now that she thought about it. Who would’ve thought that someone like her managed to end up doing that?

Speaking of that, she can’t help but wonder to herself sometimes about this; after everyone’s done graduating, what will they do from that day forward?

Honestly, she still had no idea what to do after their graduation passed. Aside from gaming, there isn’t much else she can do. It’s not as if people would be willing to pay her for playing games.

(She fully knows that there are cases like that, but she’s known Hajime enough to imagine that he’d gently tell her off. She knows that it’d be on the lines of it okay for a while, but it won’t be sustainable enough for a long-term plan. That aside, it does sound good as a side job.)

A few more ceremonies took place. The Ultimates stood up from their seats, Nagito and herself included, and sang the school’s hymn one last time. All the while, she snuck a glance towards the rest of their class.

She’s going to miss everyone.

At the end of it, both Chiaki and Nagito were on their way to leave Hope’s Peak Academy’s building, their diplomas in hand. Everyone from their class was, plus Ms. Yukizome, was with them as they headed to an important destination.

Once they arrived at reserve course building, the person they’ve been waiting looked surprised, but then that surprise quickly changed to that of relief. “Ah, it’s just you guys.”

She smiled at him apologetically. “Sorry we took so long, Hajime.”

He waved a hand off. He reassured her, saying, “It’s fine, really. Actually, I think that my graduation ceremony might’ve taken just as long as yours did, if not longer.”

Everyone else wasted no time in catching up with him. To note the special ones, Kazuichi practically launched himself towards Hajime from behind, crying about how he’s going to miss his soul brother. Fuyuhiko started to yell at Kaz to get himself together, all while manly tears were starting to leak out of his own eyes too.

Aside from her and Nagito, those two guys have always been the ones closest to Hajime when it came to bro-related stuff.

The others joined in, and soon, it was getting harder to see where Hajime is or who’s talking to whom; they’ll pretty much envelop him in their presence soon enough. She couldn’t stop herself from grinning at their antics; it’s really amusing to see everyone love him so much.

It didn’t take too long for everyone to get their hands off him, allowing him to breathe once again. He appreciated that a lot. To be fair, they did this a lot since way back when, so he’s sort developed an immunity against that.

A second later, while everyone else were talking about what they’re planning next, Hajime turned his attention towards the school building.

“Wow. I can’t believe we actually made it this far.” His eyes had a glazed look to them. “It feels like I’m dreaming. You guys know what I’m saying?”

“Yeah,” Thinking back on her doubts since the ceremony began, Chiaki ended up saying that thought out loud, “I think I can see where you’re coming from.”

Nagito shook his head while his ever-present smile remained. “Oh, but, you’re not dreaming at all. None of us are. It’s not that hard to believe. You two were always bright with hope, so it’s not surprising you both achieved this.” The lucky student then faced his other friend, declaring, “Especially you, Hajime.”

The rest of their class voiced their agreement.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” He went a bit red, turning his face away. “I never thought that you, of all people, would end up saying something as inspiring as that.”

Instead of apologizing like he would’ve done years ago, Nagito took it in stride, smiling and then saying, “I’m glad I could help you two in that regard, then.”

Everyone walked past the reserve course’s building, past the main building of Hope’s Peak Academy; all the while, they began to chat excitedly among themselves again. She heard promises that even if they go their separate ways, they’d still keep in touch as much as possible.

Hmm, now that she thought about it, maybe this day doesn’t have to end on a more bittersweet note. Maybe she could do something to ease things a bit, to make a lasting memory before everything is officially over.

Turning around, she looked at her friends and asked, “Hey, would you guys mind if we went over to the arcade today? It’d just like we did back then.”

Hajime mused. “Just like old times, huh?” He hummed, as if he was seriously considering the idea. Not even a minute after, he went and replied with, “Well sure. I’d love that.”

“If everyone’s okay with that,” Nagito piped in, getting himself in between them, “Then I’d love to join in as well.”

The other boy almost jumped back in surprise at that action. “Hey, Nagito!”

While her two guy friends went on with their bantering/bickering and everyone else couldn’t help but laugh a bit at their antics (though Teruteru was being his usual self again), Chiaki let herself chuckle so blissfully with them. Her eyes closed, fondly reminiscing about the moments she made with her dearest friends, knowing that future wouldn’t be so bad.

Yeah, they’ll be alright. As long as they’re together, she’s sure of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I can't help but think that I'm stretching the original prompt a bit further than I should. Then again, this does take place in a Non-Despair AU, so I guess it kinda counts?


	7. Say Lazy - Day 7: Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime wants to get up to start their day. His two bedmates want otherwise.

Birds chirped outside without a care in the world. A thin streak of sunlight passed through an equally thin gap from the closed windows, and ended up shining inside the room. To be more specific, it shined rather brightly on the face of one the room’s three occupants.

Hajime stirred when he felt something bright sting one of his eyelids. His hand shot up to cover that part up in reflex; he groggily opened his eyes. Once his eyes fully settled in, he yawned.

Although it felt like his body didn’t want to, he was in the process of pushing himself up, trying to get up to start the morning with something worthwhile.

He wasn’t able to do that, and it wasn’t because his body felt like it didn’t want to. Still a bit half-awake, he forgot to realize one thing, and his eyes widened as that shocked him to full consciousness.

He was pinned in place not just by one person, but _two_ of them. A groan left his lips when that realization forcibly hit him. To think that he momentarily forgot about his two bedmates. And before anyone can mistake so, no, nothing happened between the three of them last night. Nope, nothing at all; as far as he remembers, the only thing that happened was an ultimate cuddle pile that almost suffocated him.

Speaking of bedmates, Nagito clung onto one of his arms; Chiaki did the same to his other arm. Both of them were still sound asleep. He groaned again, the nerve of those two to be so clingy while looking so peacefully.

He shifted his left arm to try and free himself; that made Chiaki mumbled something in her sleep and, to his dull surprise, proceeded to tighten her chokehold onto that arm.

He sighed to himself. Well, he supposed that a few minutes more in bed with those two wouldn’t be so bad, even if that’d go against his morning schedule for today.

It definitely helps that those two people he’s stuck with, both in the literal and metaphorical sense, were awful morning people anyways.

Just as he relaxed himself, pressing the back of his body deeper onto the sheets, he heard a soft voice whisper by his side,

“Good morning, Hajime.”

Nagito’s eyes were half-lidded, giving off a very, very wrong impression; it’s the kind of expression that he doesn’t want to think about now. It doesn’t help that the other guy’s shirt was half-lifted and exposed a bit of his stomach.

Anyone else in his position would’ve gone beet red at that. Hajime himself would’ve done the same thing if he was his old self. Nowadays, he didn’t even bat an eye at that sight.

Instead, he let out a sigh and said, “Well, morning to you too.” He wriggled the arm that was still held by that guy. “Mind letting go of my arm now?”

“Oh,” He immediately did exactly that without raising any more of a fuss, pretty much unlike what he would’ve done back then, back when they were hormone-addled teenagers. “Excuse me for that.”

Now that one of his arms was free, he wasted no time on waking up the other troublemaker. That is, by lightly tapping on her cheek to try and wake her up. “Hey, Chiaki,” He wriggled his other arm to further emphasize that. “Nagito and I are up now. You better get up soon, too.”

Both of those actions ended up causing her to stir a bit, but aside from that, nothing happened. Well, side from making her tighten her chokehold on that arm literally held as a hostage even more.

"Fifteen more minutes, you two." Chiaki sleepily mumbled.

Using his free arm, Hajime sighed once again and palmed over his forehead. "Okay, first of all, that's way too much time.” Shaking his head, he also added, “Second of all, shouldn't it be 'five more minutes'?"

A sharp gasp came from his other side. "Are you saying you don't want to spend fifteen more minutes with us, Hajime?" Nagito asked with mock hurt in his tone.

A vein popped at the side of Hajime’s head, closing his eyes in frustration as he mildly yelled,

"That's not what I meant, Nagito, and you know that!" Honestly, it’s way too early for him to get a migraine today.

Rather surprisingly, even the volume of his voice wasn’t enough to wake their resident gamer sleepyhead up.

Deciding that he’s done playing around, Hajime wriggled his unfairly-held captive arm, trying to wrestle it free from the girl’s grasp. He grunted, not expecting to put so much effort into something as ridiculous as this.

It was decidedly rendered moot. For every wriggled he did, the girl (very impossibly, he mentally added) somehow had it in her to tighten her chokehold even more.

In the end, there wasn’t much he can do once he spent himself. His eyes fluttered shut as he groaned to himself. “Great, just great.”

Nagito didn’t help in bettering his mood when he laughed. The bastard didn’t even have the decency to try and stifle it.

“This isn’t funny, you know.” He dryly said.

That reaction only made the other guy laugh even more. “Sorry, sorry.” He tried, and intentionally failed to, stifle yet another chuckle. “You know, I think you’re kind of adorable whenever you’re mad like this. It’s like the expression you made on our bed on some nights.”

His lips strained themselves. “Please stop saying things like that, especially when they sound so wrong out of context.”

A yawn came from his other side. Hajime turned his side, and was greeted with a pair of still drowsy, still half-lidded, pink eyes.

“Oh, you’re finally up.” He wrestled his arm free. Now that a certain someone’s up and about, there wasn’t much of a struggle this time. He pulled the blankets off of them and got himself into a sitting position. “Well then, I’m off to prepare breakfast now.”

“Did…” Chiaki yawned again, before asking, “Did we do it last night?”

Hajime wasn’t even out of their bed yet when he heard that question. He inhaled, then exhaled, before answering, “Seriously, you too? No, nothing happened last night.” Before reaching the bedroom’s door, he turned around and then added, “This isn’t the first time we shared a bed together. Also, that joke’s starting to get old.”

As he left to do what he said he would, he thought to himself, _‘Honestly, what am I going to do with you two?’_

Even with all of that, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Whew, this is probably one of the plain fluffiest thing I've ever written. I don't know whether I should be proud of myself or not.


	8. Nothing Wrong - Day 8: Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One day, Chiaki has a question regarding the nature of the relationship between her, Hajime, and Nagito.

“Nagito? Mind if I ask you something?”

He perked up. “Is there something wrong, Chiaki?

The three of them were sitting still on the couch. They’d been watching yet another terrible movie adaptation of one of Chiaki’s favorite games. Hajime had dozed off not too long ago, and so, they both got him into a more comfortable sleeping position.

It’s kind of ironic, and the remaining two would’ve laughed the situation off if it weren’t for that dire question.

He heard her breath grow tense and unsteady as if she were bracing herself before asking her question. It’s almost as if he’d end up judging her for asking something so ridiculous.

Of course, he’d never do such a thing. He may not be the best person, but even he wouldn’t stoop so low on that level.

A moment afterward, she turned to him with a serious, and yet also, solemn face as she asked him, “Do you think our relationship with each other is okay?”

He tried to open his mouth to say something, to try and reassure her that she didn’t even need to ask about something like that, but nothing came out. The question made him pause.

To outsiders, they’d look like a typical group of very close friends, but they weren’t just that. The truth is, all three of them were in a relationship with each other. Nagito very much loves both Hajime and Chiaki, and in return, both of them felt the same way towards him and each other.

In a way, all three dots were connected.

Despite that, they all knew that this kind of relationship wasn’t quite common, and even if it was, those who had these kinds of relationships wouldn’t casually parade it around or announce it the world. They knew of the stigma behind polyamory, after all.

A sigh came from her. “I thought so.”

He turned to look at her in the eye. “Hey, please listen to me.”

Although reluctant, she did exactly that.

“Others would indeed frown upon our relationship if they knew the true nature about it,” Nagito began, “But, that never really bothered you before back then. If you don’t mind me asking, why are you concerned about it now?”

She paused herself before sighing and said in reply, “I’m not saying that we should break up or anything like that, I still love you both. It’s just that,” She swallowed a lump in her throat, “I don’t want you or Hajime to end up getting hurt because of this.”

Before she can say anymore, she felt someone wrap his arms around her from behind.

“Hajime?” A hint of fear and shame was in her tone as she said that. “You…were you listening to us the whole time?”

The now-awake Hajime grumbled. “Everything you said back there was understandable. I mean, if it was just me and Nagito, people knowing about it would be already bad, but with you too? I don’t even want to imagine.”

Nagito tried to reach his hand out, only to retract it at the last second. “Hajime…”

His hug got a little tighter as he added, “Honestly, I don’t care what they say about us. Aside from awful words, what else can they do? ” Hajime then focused his attention on Nagito. “What I care about are your feelings about this. Both of you are a lot more important than that.”

“Perhaps someday, they’ll learn to understand.” He mused. “But for now, we’ve got to each other.”

Shortly after that, Nagito joined in the hug. He wrapped his arms around them, holding them both close to him. None of them want to let go of this moment.

Yes, it truly isn’t so hard to feel proud of each other.

And they wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This might be my shortest entry so far. I hope you don't mind its length, and I quickly apologize for that.


	9. Let's Just Live - Day 9: Free Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the world of Remnant, there were four important memories that Hajime will never forget during his time at Hope's Peak. RWBY AU.

No one would’ve thought that something like this would happen, and yet, it did anyway. Hajime remembered that first memory as clear as day.

Hope’s Peak Academy: one of the, if not the most famous and prestigious school for trainee huntsmen and huntresses in all of Remnant.

There is one thing that separates Hope’s Peak from other schools; it was a well-known fact that students from there were considered to be the best among the best. In a way, some would think of them as the Ultimate Huntsmen and Ultimate Huntresses. Because of those high standards, potential students don’t usually sign up there. Instead, they are personally scouted and then invited by the school.

To be recognized like that would truly be a big honor.

So, how and why did someone like him got invited? He wasn’t anything special; his grades were average, and he’s a rather standard fighter. His semblance was painfully ordinary even in this world full of unique ones; even his weapon was a typical sword that could fold into a simple revolver.

Someone like him shouldn’t even be here, and yet, here he is, in a bullhead that’s headed to where Hope’s Peak Academy’s initiation grounds were.

It didn’t take long for their ride to land. These grounds were heavily infested with all sorts of Creatures of Grimm. From what he heard, even the more dangerous ones like Deathstalkers were around here. That thought didn’t sound comforting in the slightest.

Even better, the headmaster himself asked for everyone to go and stand on these weird platforms. He can’t help but have a bad feeling about this.

Hajime closed his eyes. He’s already made it this far just by getting invited; he might as well make the best of it. Of course, just because someone got scouted, it doesn’t mean that they’d always survive the entrance exam, if a sane person can even call it that.

Someone quipped in, “You haven’t changed in the slightest.”

He snapped out of his stupor in shock. He knew that voice; he hadn’t heard someone so familiar in a long time. “I-Izuru?!”

That blank-faced boy with long hair was Izuru, his estranged brother who he hadn’t seen since their parents’ separation. To see him right here and right now was surreal, to say the last.

“So it is you.” His brother droned. “I suppose this is one thing I was unable to predict.”

“Looks you haven’t changed much either.” Hajime muttered back against him.

Headmaster Kirigiri stood nearby. He began his grandiose speech; it wasn’t long and stuffy as someone like him would’ve expected. If anything, it’s shorter than the welcoming speeches his old principals would’ve done.

As he neared the end of the speech, he concluded it with, “Now with all those formalities out of the way, you should arrive in the initiation grounds within less than a minute. I believe you’ve all prepared your landing strategies within that timeframe.”

Hajime quickly snuck a glance at a whole bunch of other kids, which included Izuru. Even from here, he can see them their bodies tense up in preparation. He looked down on the platforms where everyone, including him, was standing on.

“Wait,” He found himself backtracking, wondering if he was starting to sweat bullets at this point. “By ‘landing strategy’, you don’t seriously mean-”

“Yes.” Headmaster Kirigiri confirmed with a slight nod and a smile on his face. “It’s exactly what it says. Good luck.” He waved a hand.

The last second passed.

Hajime never thought this would be the day he screamed so high and loud.

His world spin in ways he never knew before. He saw blue and green and before he knew it, his head met some pain. It’s not the worst one he ever felt, but that didn’t mean it didn’t suck in the slightest.

When he finally came back into the real world, the mother of all headaches pretty much split his head in half. He groaned, all while trying to get himself back up. He quickly discovered that he can’t, not with his limbs all tangle up in twigs and branches; he’s literally been caught in a snag.

He bemoaned his luck for that day. _‘So much for a landing strategy…’_

Another voice quipped against him for the second time that day.

“How unfortunate,” The voice stated with a disappointed tone, “To think that the first person I’d see here is someone like you. I can’t believe I stumbled upon such bad luck.”

Hajime looked down, or at least tried his best to do that while still being stuck in that position. From there, he saw a white-haired boy; judging by his awfully disappointed look, he’ll have to guess he’s the same one who talked to him just now. He rolled his eyes. “Well, sorry for disappointing you. Now, can you please help me out of here?”

The other boy shrugged. “If you say so.” He reached out for his weapon of choice, one of his sickles, and aimed it towards the offending branches. He tossed it up, and in no time at all, slashed it up to pieces.

It might’ve been intentional when he looked back on it, but because those branches have been cut off so much, there’s nothing left for Hajime to grab hold onto.

Predictably, he ended up crashing down for the second time on that day.

Hajime groaned; sure, his Aura might’ve helped in curbing out the worst of the damage, but it still hurts like hell. He forced himself up, glaring at the other boy. He said in a tone that showed just how done he was, “You’re such an ass…”

The other boy shrugged. “Is that the best you could’ve come up with? I’m honestly disappointed. Others have called me far worse.”

While the two of them walked by these grounds, he did a little self-introspection and went back about a few things.

He remembered the gist of how the potential students get to pass this initiation process. After they get invited and then land onto these ground, the first person to lock eyes with each student will be their partner for the rest of the test. After that, they have to look for some artifacts and then make it out of there alive. Slaying a bunch of Grimm is optional, but highly encouraged.

Thinking back on it, both he and the other boy would mutually agree that their ‘chosen partner’ sucks so much. Meh, there’s no use in complaining about it; now that it’s been sealed a few minutes ago. The least he can do is to at least act civilized about it.

Speaking of which…

“Hey, uh, I know we started off at the wrong foot,” He began while trying not to fumble his words up. “My name is Hajime Hinata.”

The other boy turned his head around to face him. His facial expression hadn’t changed a bit. “I doubt that you’d care much, but since you’re asking for it, I’m Nagito Komaeda.”

The atmosphere around them got a little more awkward as each minute passed by. In order to try and change things up, Hajime thought out loud, “You know, I’m starting to wonder where they are keeping these artifacts he’s talking about.”

Nagito didn’t say anything to him.

He tried not to let the other boy’s limp response deter him. “When you think about it, this school only invites the best ones. It won’t be a stretch if they made it so hard to find those artifacts.”

Again, Nagito didn’t reply much.

For the rest of their quest/aimless wandering about, they finally came across a bunch of old ruins. In the middle of those old ruins, he saw what they were and-

Hajime had no idea what to think of this; should he feel relieved that they found those artifacts without running into any sort of Grimm, or be disappointed by how anticlimactic it all felt?

Well, it doesn’t matter.

“Hey, wait, Nagito!” He balked.

Nagito turned to him, a silver rook in hand. “What? You weren’t saying anything, so I thought I might pick one myself.”

As much as he hated to admit it, the other boy did have a point. “We got the artifact now, so, I guess we head back up there?”

In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have tempted things he’d never understand. As soon as he said that, Nagito held a finger up to him, as if to tell him to wait for something. Hajime wanted to ask why, but held his tongue at the last second.

It wasn’t like he needed to, as a horrible shriek caused a shiver to run down his spine. A Nevermore was nearby.

Nagito shrugged with a serene smile on his face. “I apologize for that. I don’t have complete control on my semblance like others do. It has a habit of going off when I least expect it.”

“That was your semblance?!”

“Yeah. It’s also the reason why we’re the first ones to find these artifacts. But, in exchange for that…” Nagito let out a chuckle. “It’s only about to get worse.”

Just as the other boy had said, things did progressively get worse. By that, it meant that a large group of Grimm ran towards their small group, if it can even be called that. Even though they’re mostly composed of small fry like Ursas and Beowolves, they can’t let their guard down.

“Get behind me.” Hajime barked as he positioned himself, weapon in hand. Surprisingly, Nagito did just that without a single complaint or snapping back. Both boys were back to back, cutting up against any Grimm that dared to close in on them.

An ursa was dangerously close to Nagito, its claws aiming for his throat, only for its paw to be swiftly cut down by Hajime. That wasn’t enough, and in less than a second, that same ursa was vivisected into four, barely-recognizable pieces.

Despite their efforts, more Grimm poured out from seemingly out of nowhere. Creeps had joined in their ranks as well; Nagito had just finished one off by stabbing it in the skull with a sickle.

Hajime doesn’t know how much longer they can keep this up. A Beowolf, one that’s no doubt older than the rest of them, managed to swipe Nagito off his feet. The other boy’s weapon clanked a few feet away from them.

At the same time, a loud crash was heard. That caught the rest of the Grimm’s attention.

The next thing they knew, all Hajime and Nagito saw were countless of Grimm getting slaughtered from left to right. Compared to their efforts only moments ago, they looked utterly pathetic to this newcomer.

When the debris cleared up and the mess of leftover Grimm bodies was in the process of getting dissolved, Hajime had a good look at the newcomers. And he immediately wanted to die from embarrassment right then and there.

Of all people, their saviors happened to be Izuru, because of course; his brother’s a prodigy even among the prodigies, and some girl he swore he never saw before. Okay, how did his brother get all the luck in this world?

So much happened in a single span of day, and so, Hajime let himself sigh in exhaustion.

When they got back with those artifacts they found, they were sixteen students that passed in the end, which made for four teams in total. It’s pretty low compared to normal huntsmen and huntresses academies, but that just shows that Hope’s Peak rolls with quality over quantity.

* * *

The second memory he remembers happened around a week, shortly after their official enrollment.

Classes were already over for the day. Hajime knew that ever since the four of them became a team, they’d share their dorm together. He had nothing against them-well, okay, maybe not all of them-it’s just that…

He isn’t in the mood to share the same room with some people. That’s why he’s been staying up on the school’s rooftop until everyone else in his team went to sleep.

Nagito’s words continued to echo in his mind. That thought caused him to involuntarily grimace.

_“I already think it’s hard to believe you’re related with a prodigy like Izuru. It’s even harder to believe that you ended up being our team leader instead of him.”_

He grabbed both sides of his head. He shouldn’t make a big deal out of that. He’s not a little kid anymore, and there are a lot of things in this world worse than petty insults.

Still, it doesn’t change the fact that it wasn’t the first time his teammate said anything similar to that. If anything, that boy hadn’t run out of anything to say to him.

A somewhat familiar, softer voice interrupted him.

“Hajime?”

Upon hearing his name, he turned his head around to look at it. Sure enough, it’s one of his teammates, and fortunately for him, it wasn’t Nagito or Izuru who called for him. “Oh, it’s you.” He lightly shifted his position in order to face her better. “Is there something wrong, Chiaki?”

Chiaki Nanami, the same girl who showed up with his brother during their first day. They haven’t talked much, and from what little he knew about her, she often borrowed notes from Izuru. In the worst cases, she often had tutor sessions with him.

“I think I should be asking that.” She replied as she, without warning, took a seat right next to him.

At first, he wanted to call her out for doing something so reckless (for example, sitting at the edge of the rooftop right now), but after realizing that he’s pretty much doing the same thing, he decided not to. The last thing he’s going to be was to be a big hypocrite.

Once she was comfortably seated, she followed it up with, “Your brother’s really worried, you know.”

“You mean to say he’s worried about what’s wrong with me?” He can’t help but snap back with an eye roll.

He had no idea if she got what he meant about that; whichever it was, it’s not as if it mattered anyway.

“I think he’s worried about you _for_ you.” She added, probably thinking she’s making things clearer.

A sigh came out of him. “If he really was worried for me like you say he is,” He turned his face away from her. “Then he should’ve come up here himself.”

A few moments of awkward silence passed by after he said that; it only lasted for a few minutes at most, and yet, it felt like it was so much longer than that. That awkward silence was then broken when Chiaki decided to put the topic in a different direction.

“You’re right.”

His eyes widened so much; they might’ve bulged out of their sockets. “What?”

“I mean it. Since you’re his brother, I think maybe he could’ve at least checked on you himself. At least, that’s just my opinion about it. It’s just that, he wasn’t the only one who’s worried about you.”

He shook his head. “You don’t have to. It’s something I should deal with myself. I mean, if I don’t, then I’m just proving him right.” His eyes closed. “That I’m not fit to be the team leader, and that the headmaster made a mistake in choosing me to be that instead of someone more worthy about that, like my brother.”

“In that case, then you’ve got that wrong. Nagito was being very unreasonable when he said all of those things to you.” Her tone still sounded somewhat gentle, but there was a sharper edge to it. “Even if he was somehow right, which I doubt, I don’t think you need to be exactly like Izuru to be a good leader.”

Before he can get a word in, to try and refute her claims, she then said to him while looking him in eye, “Not only that; you’re also not afraid to admit your own shortcomings, and if that isn’t what a good leader’s trait is, then I don’t know what is. Also, remember what happened when Mr. Sakakura released that Beringel in class?”

Hajime fought back a scowl; that incident was what cemented his deep dislike against their combats teacher. “I don’t know if I can ever forget something like that.”

“Even though it was one of the tougher kinds of Grimm, you still held your ground. You were one of the first students to mobilize against it. Sure, Izuru was the one who killed it in the end, but that doesn’t change the fact that you united most of us back there.” At the end of that, she couldn’t help but let out a small smile.

However, a realization sank in, and she let out a sigh. “I’m sorry I didn’t speak up for you until now.”

“No, no. It’s okay, really.” Hajime waved a hand off. “I don’t think it would’ve done much to convince someone like him anyways. Still, thanks for hearing me out. I didn’t know I needed something like that so bad,” He let out a chuckle to alleviate any remaining tense feelings within him. “At least, not until now.”

“Well, in that case,” Chiaki leaned herself back, “If there’s anything else, remember it’s okay to let us know.”

Ever since that day, Hajime took care to remember that. It ended up helping him for the rest of their first year together as a team.

* * *

When he looked back on it, the third memory was arguably one of the happiest ones they’ve had.

It’s crazy to think that a lot of insane stuff happened in just a year. To say that Nagito was so unhappy about him being chosen as the team leader during that time was a huge understatement. Sure, he wasn’t very vocal about it, but he made it clear he respectfully disagreed with the headmaster’s decision; he did just that by being passive-aggressive with Hajime as much as possible.

In short, a lot of things happened from that time period, Nagito was an unbearable teammate at first, things were awkward between him and his perpetually non-expressive brother, and Chiaki Nanami, the girl with them, always fell asleep in class and his brother made sure she doesn’t flunk too early.

They were kind of dysfunctional for a team before; even he can admit that.

Looking back on it, most of those problems during their first year would’ve been solved so easily, had the four of them decided to sit down and talk like responsible people. Of course, this year, things have been different since. And it wasn’t just because they’ve got a new batch of freshmen to look out for.

Speaking of freshmen…

This is NOT the way Hajime expected their second semester to start with. Then again, he’s sure that no one else expected this to happen either.

No one was sure who started it, and even if they knew, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. The cafeteria’s chairs and tables were flipped and scattered over; the few ones that were still mostly intact have been used as makeshift cover or fortresses.

“Come and get some!” Akane shouted with her usual ferocity, her grin a bit tad too wide to be friendly.

As for the rest of the Ultimate students, everyone stuck with their teams. What was once a quiet, peaceful lunch since had devolved into a free-for-all melee; teams upon teams ganged up on each other, some formed temporary alliances before turning onto each other.

It’s a messy symphony of food, slush, and the students’ excited screaming.

“Seriously…” Hajime grumbled to himself, readying a baguette, his weapon of choice, as well. “We’re having a food fight, of all things?”

“It doesn’t seem so bad.” Nagito helpfully quipped as he drew out his sickles.

He took a look at his teammate, and then let out a long-drawn sigh. He shook his head. “Please put that back where it came from.”

The atmosphere didn’t dampen even when his perpetually expressionless brother joined in. Unlike the rest of them, he didn’t have any weapon in hand, whether it is his real weapon or one of the foods that dropped down. “Tch. How boring of you all to resort to something as childish as this.”

Chiaki, for her part, looked like she had the same idea as Nagito had earlier. “Bring it on.”

For the first time, Izuru was outvoted and so, he begrudgingly joined them in this food fight that escalated into a cafeteria civil war. It was sort of fun while it lasted. He lost track of who was beating who. Actually, he forgot if there even was a winner in this cafeteria civil war because everything went so fast.

Still, in the end, everyone can agree that Mr. Kizakura was technically the loser, since he was stuck with cleaning the cafeteria up.

* * *

No one knew that something like this would’ve happened. And yet, here it was.

Hope’s Peak Academy, once the school they were all so proud of to be students of, as well as one of the shining lights for this world’s uncertain future, went up in flames. The mobs of furious reserve course students drew their weapons out, but instead of using them against their intended foes, they mercilessly cut down the Ultimate students.

Those furious screams were already starting to drown out the dying ones.

At the same time, hordes of all kinds of Grimm surrounded the school. Beowolves, Ursas, Creeps, Deathstalkers, and King Taijutus to name a few. Several flocks of Nevermores and Griffons flew up ahead.

Hajime grunted; his aura ended up absorbing yet another impact from a Boarbatusk. In less than a second, the boar grimm’s head was sent flying off. He resisted the urge to choke when he heard an audible splotch from afar, followed by a shriek.

Both he and Nagito were doing their best to clear the way out for any remaining survivors. They didn’t have the privilege to care whether they be creatures of Grimm or rogue students, as sickening as it sounds.

To think that one of school’s own students would plan something like this. He had no idea whether he wanted to laugh bitterly or to cough out bile from his throat.

As for their missing teammates, they both volunteered to stay behind; his brother confidently told him that the confronting the mastermind is the least he can do, while Chiaki stuck by his side, believing that she had to something to help him too.

Before they left, the two requested (begged, in the latter’s case) that he and Nagito to stay alive long enough for them to meet each other again.

Once they safely led the last of the survivors out of the gates, Hajime anxiously stayed. They were far enough from immediate danger, and they’re also close enough to get spotted by their remaining teammates when they made it out safely.

A minute passed. Then another.

Nagito placed a hand on his shoulder. “They’re going to be fine.” He reassured; although he said that with a hopeful tone, even he isn’t sure if that was true.

Tense moments passed by, before they caught onto a familiar silhouette that trudged past the ruined gates.

“Hajime, wait-“ Nagito protests died down as their leader practically sprinted to meet the other person.

The leader rushed as fast as he could, not caring that his efforts have exhausted him. “Chiaki. Are you okay?” He asked, checking over her to check for any injuries.

She didn’t answer. She hadn’t been looking directly at his face.

He noticed it, and swallowing against the lump in his throat, he dared to ask, “W…Where’s my brother?”

The girl visibly tensed up, as if she was reluctant to say it out loud. And yet, she still did so, “Izuru…he…” Chiaki struggled to say more. Her body shook. “He knew…and yet…” She held her hands out.

His heart stopped when he saw those two items.

In her hand was Izuru’s tattered black tie, and in the other were the fractured, barely recognizable remains of what used to be a spear.

Hajime held the fragments of his brother’s broken weapon close to his chest. Something heavy tugged his heart down, and he let his torrent of emotions sweep him away. He felt someone grip his arm so tightly, and also felt something wet drip over his shoulder. Chiaki was no longer able to fight back the sobs that came after.

Another one gripped him just as tightly. Their arms wrapped around his waist from behind. Nagito’s breathing grew strained; his chest heaved as if he was trying to take the same pain that burdened the two with him.

The fourth, but certainly not the last memory they’ve had, was the most painful of them all.

The team of four went down to three.

(Even so, the remaining three had no choice back then, but to keep living; not only for themselves, but for him too.)

(A brother, a beloved friend, and an important comrade; fallen, but never forgotten.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Their team name is HKIN (pronounced as 'Harken', or 'Harlequin', whichever you prefer).
> 
> First of all, I'm going to apologize for two things. The first is because there was a scheduled power interruption here, and so, sorry for getting this entry late out. The second is because this was very painful to write, and so, sorry for the beating the feels out again.
> 
> Anyways, that's all for KomaHinaNami Week 2020. It's probably not the best I could've done, but I'm glad I got to participate in it. I had a lot of fun writing these out. Here's to hoping that I at least got the trio down, and if not, well, there's always more room for improvement.


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